Eiffel Tower, many schools closed in big French strike day

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

PARIS (AP) — The Eiffel Tower closed, many school kids across France had no classes and air traffic controllers were staying off work Thursday in a nationwide day of protests and strikes to air an array of grievances against the government.

Thousands of protesters, blowing whistles and waving union banners, were marching in Paris in support of the catch-all movement of private and public sector workers. The movement was likely to increase pressure on the already-unpopular Socialist government of President Francois Hollande.

The demonstrations and strikes in the protest-friendly country follow recent complaints by groups as diverse as doctors and notaries against recent government reforms, and on top of ongoing strikes by French air traffic controllers and workers at the state radio.

The air traffic controllers were holding the second half of a two-day strike, which led to the cancellation of half of flights in and out of France on Thursday. Their walkout, in part over plans to raise their maximum retirement age to 59, was expected to resume in each of the next two weeks. Many European carriers were avoiding French airspace.

FULL story at link.



Employees, teachers and workers demonstrate in Marseille , southern France , Thursday, April 9, 2015, against austerity, during a nationwide day of protests and strikes over an array of grievances against the government. The catchall movement, uniting both private and public sector workers, comes amid recent industry-specific complaints such as by doctors and notaries public against reforms by the Socialist-led government.AP Photo/Claude Paris)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/507d86db16fb4157aae082f5bcee8f84/eiffel-tower-many-schools-closed-big-french-strike-day

[Surya Gayatri]

1. Closed for the day, but never forever!

She reigns supreme!

[Surya Gayatri]

2. C'mon Steve, ya gotta admit it, if there's anybody

in the Western world who does strikes well, it's the French.

LIBERTY - EQUALITY - FRATERNITY

[Omaha Steve]

4. Well they kidnap CEO's and hold them for ransom

They have nationwide strikes over politics. They used to "off with their heads" over cake.

Good people in my book.

[Surya Gayatri]

5. I don't think you speak French, but if you did, you'd like this:

https://www.youtube.co/watch?v=zlFmUviYRnw
L'enlevement du baron Empain - Faites entrer l'accusé
(The kidnapping of the Baron Empain - Bring in the accused)

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affaire_Empain

If you can believe it, I was working at his corporation when this happened--teaching English to middle excutives.

[edhopper]

3. And we can't get people in this country

to unite for something as obvious as a living minimum wage.

[Fred Sanders]

6. In France the government fears the people, in America it is still the other way around.